Gonzales to focus on 3 prevalent crimes

By Leslie Wood
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Newly-elected Sheriff Frank Gonzales said he plans to focus on what he calls McKinley County's three most prevalent crimes DWI, domestic violence and drug abuse as he leads the agency into a new year.

Gonzales, who has been on the job for less than a month, said he will also assign at least four deputies to patrol the areas of Thoreau and Gamerco, which account for the largest volume of calls for assistance in the county.

In recent months, both areas have been plagued by an increase in property crimes. This fall, Thoreau residents became so concerned about the state of their community that they called a town hall meeting to discuss their options, one of which was to ask the sheriff's department to beef up its patrol of the area.

Gonzales said he will divide his deputies' patrols into two districts: the Thoreau district, which consists of areas such as Iyanbito, Fort Wingate and Church Rock; and the Gamerco district, which covers everything from Manuelito to the state line.

Deputies will primarily patrol the designated districts, but will be able to respond to other calls for assistance within the county, if needed.

Gonzales said he is in talks with county officials to open a department substation in Thoreau. The substation would be located on Thoreau's main roadway, he said.

Gonzales would also like to assign a deputy to patrol Ramah, which is currently without a full-time officer.

To combat the county's DWI problem, Gonzales wants to add at least one deputy to the department's DWI task force. Currently, two deputies are devoted full time to ridding the roadways of drunken drivers.

"They (deputies) will be a lot more visible," Gonzales said. "I hope people realize their chance of being caught has increased."

As far as a change in staff, Gonzales said he will select an undersheriff within the next few months once he's settled into his position.

"I did not remove anybody, just gave them new direction," Gonzales said.

Gonzales will also meet with local chapter house officials and other community leaders on a monthly or bi-monthly basis to discuss any problems that arise in their areas.